Safe Rhode Island:
Violence and Injury Prevention Program

A Suicide Prevention Framework For Rhode Islanders Ages 15-24

Executive Summary

The Suicide Prevention Framework is the first of a series of age-specific goals and objectives to guide organizations and individuals in preventing suicide and suicide attempts among Rhode Islanders.  The Planning Team chose to focus first on the needs of young people, ages 15-24, for whom suicide is the second leading cause of injury deaths (following unintentional injuries and preceding homicide.)

A diverse team of Rhode Islanders met to develop this Framework, representing six state agencies, seven community based and health care organizations, and at least one survivor.  Other interested parties commented on the draft as it developed.  That broad participation reflected the target audiences of the Framework: parents, caregivers, professionals and policy makers. Three categories of objectives were developed based on the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide.

Awareness

1: To support and affirm people at risk for death by suicide.

2: To reduce the stigma associated with seeking services for mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention.

Intervention

3: To improve and expand mental health services delivery.

4: To increase screening and identification.

5: To promote efforts to reduce access to lethal means and methods of self-harm.

Methodology Objectives

6: To coordinate and expand public health surveillance of suicide and suicide attempts.

7: To promote and support culturally relevant research on suicide and suicide prevention.

Specific recommendations, ready for implementation, flow from these objectives:

• Public, nonprofit and for profit sections must partner to seek resources for plan implementation.
• Agencies and organization should implement recommendations that are consistent with their missions and resources now.
• Schools should review and update their health education curricula to ensure that students’ mental and emotional health is effectively addressed.
• Employers should review and update their mental health services and prevention activities in accordance with existing company policies and create new mental health policies where needed.
• The media should utilize the guidelines on how to report on suicide issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
• State surveillance efforts to track trends in suicides and attempts should be improved.
• All programs to prevent suicide should consider cultural and developmental factors during program planning, implementation and evaluation.
• Suicide prevention interventions should focus on three levels: the general youth population, above average risk youth, and high-risk youth.
• Suicide prevention policy should be developed in coordination with the Governor, the Children’s cabinet, and other state agencies